FLORISSANT, Mo. – A group of homes in Florissant is the focus of the Army Corps of Engineers as testing begins underneath homes for radioactive waste. 

“It does kind of make you wonder, ‘Shoot, is this something we do need to worry about?’ because people are still getting sick,” Jordan Ritchie said. Ritchie lives near the site where the Army Corps is testing for radiation in the soil.

“It does kind of make me nervous,” he said.

A statement from the Army Corps revealed testing is ongoing at six properties after detecting contamination near the foundation of homes, saying the subdivision was built on top of a portion of Coldwater Creek.

Sampling began ten years ago in and around Coldwater Creek, detecting contamination in the floodplain. According to the statement, all homeowners have been notified and rights of entry have been granted.

The Corps said they are testing the soil between 12 and 14 feet deep.

“Testing for at the very least everybody’s house that backs up to the creek and some transparency to let us know what’s going on,” Ritchie said.

The Army Corps of Engineers is planning a meeting soon but has not yet released the date. 

This week’s testing comes as Congress is expected to vote on a bill for radiation compensation.

“I’m frustrated and I’m not living next to a nuclear waste site. So I can only imagine frustration probably isn’t even quite the right word for people who have been poisoned; their children have been poisoned; their family members have been poisoned. What I want them to know is we will stay at this as long as it takes,” Sen. Josh Hawley said.